Delhi Metro phase III construction to start on a green note

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro's going green. After bringing down the number of vehicles on the road, the Metro is hoping to keep pollution levels down with stringent monitoring of air, water and noise levels during the construction of phase III.

A Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson said: "The monitoring will start a year before the construction kicks off and go on till phase III is completed. It will be continued three years thereafter." The spokesperson added that the monitoring would be done from 15 designated locations and would be as frequent as once a week for some of the parameters.

The reason for the environmental monitoring, said officials, is two fold. "It is to ensure that pollution levels remain within standard parameters in the areas where construction is taking place. The monitoring will also tell us where to put in safeguards so that levels don't go up once the Metro becomes operational ," said the official.

In 2011, the number of vehicles that went off the roads thanks to the Metro is 1.59 lakh, says a 2009 survey conducted by the Central Road Research Institute. Emission levels were "saved" , too, says the same survey.

The environment planning for the third phase will establish the green benefits, say DMRC officials. "The monitoring will be synchronized with the construction schedules to get the optimum benefit of environmental monitoring plan." It will also give residents a chance to protect their interests during the construction as continuous monitoring will take care of any changes in the pollution level. This is especially true of underground tracts, where water pollution is a concern.

It's not the first green initiative that DMRC has undertaken . In phase II, Delhi Metro put up various measures to keep pollution levels down not only in the tracks but also at stations, especially those located in residential colonies. For instance, residents had complained of noise pollution near IFFCO Chowk, where a sharp turn in the viaduct resulted in the trains making noise as they took the turn. Now, DMRC regularly greases the tract. Delhi Metro has also put in parapets on a number of elevated viaducts with noisereduction grooves while stations located in residential areas like Laxmi Nagar or Dwarka have fibreglasses to reduce ambient noise.

The monitoring plan will measure air quality, and water and noise levels on a set schedule. While water pollution monitoring will be carried out at least four times a year to cover seasonal variations ; for air pollution, sampling duration will be twice a week and four weeks in a season . Noise-level monitoring will be done once a week.

POLLUTION VIGIL

Water pollution monitoring to be carried out four times a year Air sampling to be carried out twice a week every month Noise monitoring to be done once a week 15 proposed station locations to be part of monitoring Water, air & noise pollution to be monitored before and during construction Monitoring to be done for three years after completion of project Pollution monitoring to be done in sync with project schedule. Project covers 108 km of Delhi.